Science Projects for kids

Rakesh Mohan Hallen

Make a Camera....................................................................................................................2
Make a Periscope.................................................................................................................4
Make a Telescope.................................................................................................................6
Make an Electroscope........................................................................................................10
Make a Sundial..................................................................................................................19
Make an Anemometer........................................................................................................23
Make a Hovercraft.............................................................................................................26
Make a Rocket...................................................................................................................28
Make a Water Wheel.........................................................................................................30
Make Bridges.....................................................................................................................33
Knot in a Bone...................................................................................................................35
Secret Messages.................................................................................................................37
Make Paper Airplanes........................................................................................................39
Make Sprouts.....................................................................................................................41
Make Dahi (Yogurt)...........................................................................................................44
Make Clouds in a Bottle....................................................................................................46
Make a Camera

Cameras have become a standard item in many households. You must have
seen a camera somewhere, sometime. But do you know, what is a camera?
What is inside it? How does it take photographs?

Interested to know? Visit the following WebPages:

http://www.sederquist.com/clacamer.html
http://www.cameracraft.com/camera.htm

But do you know, you can make a simple camera yourself. It is a bit
difficult but definitely not very difficult. The most basic type of camera is
the pinhole camera, which one can construct from a cigar box, aluminum
foil, and sheet film. In this activity, we'll learn how to make a simple
pinhole camera (we call it a pinhole scope) and how it works.

A pinhole camera does not have a viewfinder; neither does it have any
control of aperture or shutter time. One has to do them manually. But it
cost so little.

The major difficulty is in fixing the photographic paper/film and

developing it. If you think your circumstances do not permit you to
experiment with photographic paper or film, you can still see how the
image is formed in such a camera. A very simple description to make such
a pinhole camera is provided at the following website, (don't be put off by
the brand name of the container, understand and follow the spirit :

http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/pringles_pinhole.html
http://acept.la.asu.edu/PiN/act/pinhole/pinhole.shtml

But, if you think you can handle

photographic paper/film (it is not very
difficult) then you will find the methods
described in any of the following
WebPages of great help. Visit all of
them and decide which one is best
suited to your taste and resources.

All you need is a container for baby

food or a paint, like the one shown in
accompanying picture. You can easily
get such a box from a scrap dealer
(raddiwala), the rest of the
requirements can be very easily
arranged.

http://acept.la.asu.edu/PiN/rdg/camera/camera.shtml
http://www.zeroimage.com/freeproject/oatmeal/oatmealcan.html
http://users.rcn.com/stewoody/makecam.htm
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/education/lessonPlans/pinholeCamera/pinhol
eCanBox.shtml
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~mukluk/pin.html
http://www.jankapoor.net/HexCamera.html
Make a Periscope

Are you familiar with the word "submarine"? A submarine is a kind

of boat that moves underwater. Submarines are common crafts for the
Naval forces of any country. But, while moving underwater, submarines
need to know where they are with respect to other objects on the surface of
water. The device they use to do this is called a periscope.

Periscopes are optical instruments that can afford submariners a limited

though vital visual picture outside their windowless hull. Traditionally,
periscopes offered the submerged submarine its only glimpse of the outside
world. Classic English war movies have also made them the submarine's
most familiar feature.

For most of us, who are unlikely to come across submarines in real life, a
periscope can make it possible to see round corners and over the heads of
crowds during processions or at sporting occasions.

In a periscope, two mirrors are arranged at

45 degrees to each other. One mirror
captures the rays of light from the object,
and then they are passed down the tube to a
second mirror which directs them into the
eye.

The use of two mirrors means that objects

are viewed the right way round. Each
mirror reverses the image and this results in
a corrected image in the bottom mirror.
So, all you need to make a periscope is a long box or tube, and two mirrors.

The long tube or box is rather easy to get or make. If you are ready to
spend some money, you can easily buy PVC tubes from a hardware store.
But, even when you are not ready to spend too much money, you can easily
find such long boxes/tubes around you, for example you can use cardboard
cartons on sherbet bottles, corrugated boxes used for supplying fluorescent
tubes, you can use tubes used for tennis balls or shuttlecocks and so on,
there are many options. The last but not the least viable option is to make
such a tube your self. You can make it from a cardboard sheet, or from
disposable paper containers used for cooking oils, fruit juices, milk etc.etc.

Many people have described in detail, the method to construct a periscope,

using any of the above options. Below is a list of addresses of such
WebPages and that can help you according to your need and choice.

http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~tbardin/html/periscope.html
http://www.pitara.com/activities/craft/online.asp?story=111
http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/faculty/kkvre/units/light/periscope.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/5-8/features/F_Construct_a_Periscope.html
http://www.lightwave.soton.ac.uk/experiments/periscope/periscope.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/periscope.html

The more difficult part, as you may discover, is to get the two mirrors of
the right size. Aluminum foils/sheets, or the reflecting surface of many
disposable bags of food items can be perhaps used instead of the mirrors,
but unless you are very lucky there reflectivity is seldom as good as that of
a glass mirror.

That's indeed the challenge for your innovative skills. Are you ready to
take this challenge?
Make a Telescope

You must have heard about telescopes. If you are lucky you might have
even seen one. A telescope is an instrument to view distant celestial objects,
like the Moon, planets etc. Common telescope are called optical telescopes.
They come in two varieties: refractors and reflectors. In refracting
telescope (refractors), the optical system consists of lenses. Both the
Objective (the optical system at the front end of the telescope) and the
eyepiece (the optical system used to look through the telescope) are lenses.
In the reflecting telescopes the objective is a parabolic mirror and the
eyepiece is made of lenses.

The telescopes used by astronomers are often huge and cannot be

constructed very easily. Often the most difficult job when a young
enthusiast decides to make a telescope is to find lenses or mirrors. But we
have found a design that is suitable for most young students in India.
Parabolic mirrors for a reflecting telescope must be ground, which is
rather arduous and time consuming.

In this activity we shall make a reflecting telescope. Let us be first of all be

familiar with its constraints.

The magnification power of a reflecting telescope is equal to the ratio of

the focal length of the objective lens to that of the eye piece. For example if
the focal length of the objective lens is equal to 100 cm and that of the eye
pierce equal to 1 cm then we shall be able to see a distant object almost a
hundred times bigger. The next constraint is the length of the telescope. A
reflecting telescope will be at least as long as the focal length of its
objective lens. Thus, the length of the telescope in the above example will
be about a meter.

We have chosen a design for this activity that would be practical to make
under typical Indian conditions.

You can acquire the lens for the

objective of your telescope from an
opticians shop (a shop from where
one gets one's spectacles made).
When you go to buy one ask him for
a + .5 diopter lense with a diameter
of about 5 cm. Should you fail to get
a +0.5 diopter lense, take a +1
diopter lens. A magnifying glass ( a
double convex lens) with focal length
of 2 cm. or more can serve as the eye
piece. You can take the help of your
science teacher to get it.

A lense of power 1 diopter has a focal length of 1 meter and a lense of

power 0.5 diopter has a focal length 2 meters. Thus if we have a lens of
power 1 diopter for the objective we shall need a tube at least 1 meter long.
One can use PVC tubes normally available at a hardware store (a shop
that sells sanitary ware, paints etc.) The tube that we can use for our
telescope must have a diameter slighly larger then that of the lens.

Since for a telescope we need to adjust the distance between the two lenses,
we need two tubes. One longer for the objective lens and the other shorter
for the eyepiece. The diameter of these tubes must be such that they can
slide one over the another. In case, it is difficult to find such tubes, you can
make your own tubes with the help of some thick paper and some adhesive
tape or glue.

The two lenses have to be secured firmly at the end of these tubes very
firmly. You may use some bangles (choodiyan) for this purpose.
Once you have made up the telescope, you will find that it is very difficult
to focus on any distant object, while holding it in you hand. So you will also
need to improvise a method of clamping it to a firm object. Think, and
improvise according to the conditions around you.

You can find some useful tips on the following webPages.

http://www.ehow.com/how_17057_make-simple-telescope.html
http://spikesworld.spike-jamie.com/science/astronomy/c421-01.html
http://www.lightwave.soton.ac.uk/experiments/telescope/telescope.html
http://home.houston.rr.com/molerat/tel.htm
http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~physics/Contemp-Astronomy/Telescope/lenstel.htm
http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/tele/tele.htm
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/mickey/ASTR110L_S04/simplescope.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/space/activity.html

Make a Stethoscope

A stethoscope is an instrument used by doctors to hear sounds generated

from within human body. They are used to listen to the heart, lungs and
intestinal tract. They are also used for measuring blood pressure.

If you dream to be a doctor one day this activity will interest you a lot. You
can make simple stethoscope very easily. But first of all you must learn a
bit about it. Visit the following website and you will find all the details
about a stethoscope in a language that you can follow easily.

http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/MNAALAS/Steth.html

You may also be interested to know, when and who made the first
stethoscope, and how its design has evolved ever since. The following
website gives an exhaustive information about all this:

http://www.rossonhousemuseum.org/stethoscope_history.html

A stethoscope as you would now know, is based on the principle of

collecting sound waves from a particular area, and transferring them to
the ears of its user through a pipe/s. Thus to make a stethoscope you would
need something to collect sound waves (like the bell of a doctor's
stethoscope, and some tube.

The most common object used for the bell of the stethoscope in the designs
described in the following WebPages is a funnel:

http://www.scitech.org.au/body/circulatory_experiments.html
http://www.schoolresult.com/experiments/science_experiments25.htm
http://www.smm.org/heart/lessons/lesson4.htm

However, you can use any of the following if you cannot get hold of a
funnel:

An empty ice-cream cup

A cover of a disposable soft drink

tumbler

The cover of a damaged electric plug

top

The cover of a boot polish container

The next item you need is some PVC tube and a T joint.. You may get a t
joint from a hardware shop or from a glass blower. You can get PVC tube
from a doctor or a hospital (doctors often have to administer glucose or
saline solution to their patients. These solutions are often dispensed in the
form of disposable polythene bags fitted with PVC tubes.

If you can successfully collect all these items, you only need to use your
ingenuity to put together a stethoscope.

Do this activity in a group. Let everyone develop a design of stethoscpe

oneself and then compare the results with those of others.

Make an Electroscope

An electroscope is a device that is used to demonstrate properties of static

electricity. Static electricity is a phenomenon that takes many forms. It can
be an electric shock you can get after walking over a carpet, or it can be a
lightning bolt from the sky. The electroscope demonstrates the repulsive
force that is exerted between two nearby objects with the same electric
charge. In this activity you will learn to make your own electroscope. You
won't need any exotic materials for this activity, all that is needed is readily
available and can even be found in your house.

First of all you must brush-up your knowledge about static electricity. The
following links can help to a large extent; they have been listed according
to their level of presentation:

http://home.att.net/~cat4a/static_electricity-II.htm
http://www.amasci.com/emotor/stmiscon.html
To make an electroscope all you need is listed below:

1. An empty glass jar such as a jam jar.

2. A length of stiff copper wire about 12 cm long (or a large steel paper
clip).
3. A sheet of aluminum kitchen foil about 20 cm square.
4. A strip of thin metal foil about 6cm x 0.5cm from a sweet wrapper.
5. A disc of cardboard about 10cm in diameter.
6. A small plug of M-seal putty.

Make a very small hole in the centre of the cardboard disc. Bend over
about 1.5cm of the copper wire at one end to make a right angle. Hold the
other end of the copper wire between your fingers and thumb and push
about one-third of its length through the hole in the cardboard disc. Secure
this short length of the wire against the disc with adhesive putty like the
M-seal. Roll-up the kitchen foil into a ball about 3cm in diameter and push
it firmly onto the unbent end of the copper wire to a depth of about 1cm,
taking care not to push the sharp end of wire into your hand. Fold the strip
of sweet foil in half to make an inverted V-shape and carefully hook it over
the bent end of the wire. Place the whole disc assembly on top of the glass
jar with the aluminium ball above the jar and the hooked length of the
wire inside of the jar. Ensure that the foil strip remains in place on the
hook. You now have your completed electroscope. Now you would want to
test it. All you need to test it is listed below:

1. A piece of silk the size of a handkerchief (or piece of cotton cloth).

2. A PVC plastic rod about 25cm long (or length of hard plastic
material).

Introduce a charge on the plastic rod by grasping it at one end and gently
rubbing the far end with the piece of silk. Move the charged end of the rod
near to the surface of the foil ball on the top of the electroscope, whilst
closely watching the behavior of the inverted V-shaped metal strip on the
wire hook within the jar. The ends of the strip should move further and
further apart as the rod is moved closer and closer to the foil ball. An
alternative to the charged plastic rod is a toy balloon. You can charge it up
by brushing it against your hair.

The electroscope works best on a dry day. On wet or humid days it might
not work at all, because water vapour in the air continuously discharges
the static charge that you are trying to create on the rod.
There are many other variations to this simple design. Do you want to
explore them? It's very easy! just click on a link listed below and you will
come across a new design.

http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/electroscope.html
http://www.sciences.univ-
nantes.fr/physique/perso/maussion/statelec/PagesEngl/Electrosc.html
http://whyfiles.larc.nasa.gov/text/kids/D_Lab/activities/electroscope.html
http://www.nfinity.com/~exile/electro.htm
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/1410/lab-GS-22.html
http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~moloney/AppComp/2000Entries/Entry08/entry08.htm

These were the designs for the simplest electroscopes, known as metal leaf
electroscopes. But these are still other variations, known as the electronic
electroscopes. Would you be interested in making an electronic
electrotrosope. You must first answer the following questions:

Are you interested in electronics as a

hobby?

Have you seen and handled a

soldering iron?

Can you get/borrow a soldering iron?

Do you know of a shop where you

can get electronic components used
in a radio transistor?

If your answer to all the above questions is yes, than only you can make an
electronic electroscope. The design and instructions are presented on a
webpage whose address is as follows:

http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/emotor/chargdet.html

Make an Electric Motor

Making a model of an electric motor is one of the most favorite project all
around the world. Which is not particularly surprising considering the
wide applications of motors in our daily life? As you have opened this page,
it is evident that you are interested to make a motor.

First all one must know how an electric motor works.

The motion of an electric motor is due to magnets and electric current. You
know the fundamental law of all magnets: Opposites attract and likes
repel. So if you have two bar magnets with their ends marked "north" and
"south," then the north end of one magnet will attract the south end of the
other. On the other hand, the north end of one magnet will repel the north
end of the other (and similarly, south will repel south). An electric current
can also make a coil of wire magnetic. Inside an electric motor, these
attracting and repelling forces create rotational motion.

If you are interested to know more about the working of electric motors,
visit any of the following WebPages.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/inside-motor.htm
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/HSCmotors.html
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor.htm
http://www.gizmohighway.com/howitworks/electric_motor.htm
http://cipco.apogee.net/mnd/mfphowm.asp
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/motor_effect.html
http://www.knowledgecontext.org/activities/connections/motor.htm

There are very many designs of electric motors that a young science
enthusiast can follow. Many of such designs are available on the internet.
Since the resources available to different people at different times can vary,
it is advisable that you study the various designs yourself and then decide
which one is the best for you. Browse through the following links, each one
of webpage that you can download through them tells you a design.

http://fly.hiwaay.net/~palmer/motor.html
http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Programs/doublex/fall01/motors.html
http://www.scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/electro/electro.html
http://www.pbs.org/weta/roughscience/discover/powerplant.html
http://www.amasci.com/emotor/emot1.html
http://f3wm.free.fr/sciences/jefimenko.html
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/HSCmotors.html

Here are a few tips. The best source of enameled copper wire is a electric
motor repair shop. You know electric motors are an essential part of
modern living. Electric motors also get damaged, so if you look around in a
market near your home will definitely find an electric motor mechanic.
Finding magnets is relatively tricky. Though magnets are an integral part
of speakers used in televisions and transistor radio etc. Your science
teacher can perhaps help you get magnets.

Construct a working model of an electric motor using any of these designs,

it's great fun.

Can you develop a new design yourself? For what purpose can you use
such a motor?

Make a Radio
Do you have a transistor radio at home? No? A Transistor radio is great
fun; you can listen to music or news almost anywhere. Do you know what a
transistor radio is?

A transistor radio (or transistor) is a small, often handheld, radio receiver.

You can buy a transistor radio these days for as little as Rs. 50. The
transistor radios sold in the market require an external power source --
electricity from the mains or from a dry penlight cell.

You can make a transistor radio that does not require any form of
electrical source to operate. All you need is a few electrical/electronic
components. These should be easy to get provided you have some
electronic repair shop or a shop that deals in electronic components.

The components that you will need and how to get them are described
below.

You will need several meters of something called enameled wire. Enameled
wire is copper wire, coated with dark colored enamel paint. It's thickness is
measured in ‘gauge’. What you want is something that is not as thin as
human hair, but not too thick either. It is going to be about 22 or 24 gauge
wires. If you buy it, it will probably come on a roll and be a couple of
hundred feet and I have no idea what it might cost these days. Barring
buying it, you can obtain magnet wire from the inside of a transformer.
Just about any kind will do. The things that you use to power telephones,
tape recorders, scanners and such. These are usually called "AC
Adaptors". Problem is, you don’t want to tear one up, if it works. A few
people have broken things like that at garage sales and so on. Look
around.
You will have to CAREFULLY disassemble the plastic case to get the
actual transformer out of the inside. You may perhaps use a hammer to
crack the case and pull it apart and remove the heavy metal thing inside.
That is the transformer. If you can see a reddish colored wire going around
and around the inside of the heavy metal part, then you have hit pay dirt!
Unwind all the wire and put it around a wooden dowel or something
similar, you will need most of it. Once you collect the wire, you will need a
coil form upon which to wind the wire.

The tube that is easily obtainable from right

around most homes is a toilet paper
cardboard tube, or a shuttlecock box.
Alternatively, one can use a 500 ml. PET
bottle used for dispensing treated drinking
water/soft drinks or the reel that you use to
wind the string for flying a kite. When you
begin to wind the wire, you will need to lay it
from one end and tape it or some other way
secure it to the tube. Carefully laying the
wire about ½ " from one side, begin winding
the wire neatly, and not overlapping
anything. When you are finished, you should
have a nice, neat coil that goes around and
around the tube, leaving about ½ inch of
space on either end of the tube. The coil, if
you measure will be 3.5 inches wide along
the tube. You will need to make sure the wire
is tight around the tube so that it does not
move at all.

Attach a copper strip to a plywood/cardboard base plate using screws, nut

and washer. If you cannot find a copper strip, don't bother. If you
understand its purpose you can always innovate a different setup to fulfill
its purpose.

Now mount your paper roll to the cardboard base plate using two
pushpins (drawing-pins used to fix paper on a soft board) through either
end. Locate the paper roll so that the copper strip will gently rub across
the top of the coil.
Once it is, tightly secure it at both
ends and make sure you leave a few
inches of wire at either end. The
accompanying figure shows you
what it should look like.

Next we need an earphone. What we really

require for this to work is something called
a "High Impedance" earphone. It is
perhaps the most difficult part to acquire
easily. In the past the most easy source used
to be kabariwala who deals in old
electronic products (like those located near
Jumma Masjid in Delhi). The headphone of
an old black telephone serves the purpose
best. So if you can find a old discarded
telephone instrument somewhat like the
one depicted in the picture, you can be
fairly sure that you can make this radio.
You will the need to screw off the earpiece
to get out the earphone device inside.
Otherwise you may have to experiment
with the ceramic earphones like the one
depicted in the picture on the top available
these days for most music
systems/radios/tape recorders.
The other item that you may find hard
a bit difficult to acquire is a
germanium diode. The most common is
perhaps 1N34 diode. Its looks are
depicted in picture beside. It should not
cost more then Rs. 5 in any market in
India. If you cannot find a shop that
sells this diode you may request a
relative or friend residing in Delhi or
Mumbai. It is available in many shops
at Lajpatrai Market or Lamington
road. But, just in case you cannot find
IN34, try with any other germanium
diode, chances are that it will work.

Add 3 more push-pins to the cardboard baseplate as shown in the figure

above. Connect the germanium diode beween the screw holding down the
copper strip and one of the nearby pushpins. You'll make a better
connection if you loop the ends of the diode around the screw and the
pushpin. The side of the diode with the black band should point away from
the copper strip.

Loop the loose wires from the ends of the tuning coil a couple of times
around each of the remaining pushpins.

Using some sand paper, gently remove the enamel insulation from the last
inch or so of the wires coming from the tuning coil. Also gently sand (by
rubbing in the same direction) the enamel wire along the path on the
surface of the coil where the copper strip rubs.

All that is left now is to hook your radio up to an earphone, antenna, and
grounding system (such as a cold water pipe) and you should hear music!
By sliding the copper strip along the tuning coil, you should be able to hear
several weak, but distinct, radio stations. For good electrical contact, you
may need to press the copper strip firmly against the coil with your finger
while listening to the radio.

If you do not succeed in the first attempt and want some more information,
follow any of the following links. You will surely emerge wiser.

http://scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/radio/radio.html
http://www.crystalradio.net/beginners/index.shtml
http://scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/radio/homemade_radio.html
http://survival.anomalies.net/begradio.html
http://members.aol.com/djadamson7/articles/foxhole.html
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/People/rapidproto/activities/BizarreWebPages/foxhole.htm
http://journeytoforever.org/edu_radio.html
http://www.tricountyi.net/~randerse/xtal.htm
In case you are successful, try to innovate. What all can you change to
make your radio work better. If you would like to make a slightly
advanced version that has an amplifier too, follow the link below.

http://hamers.chem.wisc.edu/outreach/radios2/making_an_am_radio.htm

Make a Sundial

The role of time in our life cannot be overemphasized. We often need to

know the time of the day. Sundials are the oldest way to tell time. As we all
know the position of the sun changes during the day but the sun doesn't
move. The sun appears to rise in the east and sets in the west because the
Earth rotates around the sun.

If we fix a post somewhere, as the sun goes across the sky, it casts a shadow
that moves in a circular path. If we mark them on the plate you can tell
what time it is, just like reading a clock!

Shadow sticks or obelisks are simple sundials. If the sun rose and set at the
same time and spot on the horizon every day, they would be fairly accurate
clocks. However, the sun's path through the sky changes every day
because the earth's axis is tilted. On earth's yearly trip around the sun the
North Pole is tilted toward the sun half of the time and away from the sun
the other half. This means the shadows cast by the sun change from day to
day.
Sundials only measure local solar time. If a friend had a sundial 5 degrees
longitude to the west of your sundial, his sundial would read a different
time than yours. This is a simple calculation: the earth turns 360 degrees in
about 24 hours, therefore the sun's apparent position moves 360/24 = 15
degrees each hour. So your friend's sundial would read 20 minutes
different (earlier) than yours. This difference is only affected by longitude,
not latitude. To standardize things, the earth was divided into 24 time
zones in the 1840's, each to be one hour different from the next.

Telling time by
the sun goes
back very far in
man's history.
More than 3,500
years ago,
people realized
that the sun
could be used to
tell the time of
day. As a result,
they learned
how to construct
sundials. A
shadow cast by
the sun pointed
to the time of
day on a dial
that was part of
a sundial.
Perhaps the
largest sundial
ever built was
constructed at
Jaipur, India, in
1742. The
pointer of this
huge sundial is
one hundred feet
high, and the
whole
instrument
covers an acre of
ground. Some
sundials are
small enough to
be carried by
their owners, as
easily as wrist
watches are
worn today. For
more than a
century after
watches and
clocks were in
use , their
accuracy was
checked by
sundials.

You too can make a sundial. It can be done fairly easily. Here is a very
simple method for making a sundial. All you need is: A sheet of cardboard,
scissors and a square wooden board.

The method of construction is described as follows.

Cut a triangular piece of cardboard in such a way that its angle at point A
is equal to the latitude of the city where you are make/use the sundial. (in
Delhi this angle is 28.5o and the angle B is equal to 90 (Figure below )
 Erect this triangle vertically on the wooden board. To keep it in erect
position fix it with the help of two paper strips on its either side. Now keep
it on flat ground in such a place that is sunny all through the day. Arrange
the board in such a way that the side AC of the triangular cardboard
points towards the north-south direction and the point C is towards North.
With the help of a watch, mark the shadow of the side AB on the wooden
board after every hour starting from 9 A.M. Write the time by the side of
the shadow line. Be careful that the side AC always points in the north-
south directions while using this sundial.

That is perhaps the simplest method to make a sundial but it is not the
only one. There are many many more. Are you interested in them. Yes?
Follow the following hyperlinks and you will be amply rewarded.

http://www.sundials.co.uk/projects.htm
http://www.eere.energy.gov/roofus/sundial.html
http://www.nwf.org/kidzone/kzPage.cfm?siteId=2&departmentId=146&articleId=428
http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sundial.htm
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/cgi-bin/novlesson.cgi
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Classroom/Lessons/Sundials/sundials.html
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/Earth/Sundial/Sundial-ConstructSimple.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/kids/summer_activities/make_sundial.shtml

After you have visited some of these websites and got interested in this
activity, you may be curious to know more about the Sun and how does a
sundial really work. A visit to the following website will amply satisfy you.

http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Classroom/Lessons/Sundials/sunpath.html
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/Earth/Sundial/Sundial-how.html
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/Earth/Sundial/Sundial-Questions.html

And if you are interested in pictures of sundials around the world, here are
a few very interesting links

http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/jaipur/jan2.html
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Classroom/Lessons/Sundials/ParkDial.html
http://www.sundials.co.uk/pix.htm
Make an Anemometer

We have all felt the blowing of wind. Sometimes it is fast and sometimes
gentle. Can you definitely assert that the speed of wind at a particular
instant of time is more or less then at a different time?

An anemometer is a device that can help you measure the speed of wind.
You too can build is a model of an anemometer to measure the speed of
wind yourself.. A real one will be able to accurately measure how fast the
wind is blowing. Yours will give you only approximation of how fast it's
blowing. It can't give you an exact wind speed.

The energy in the moving wind can be used to generate electricity. But you
have to know how fast the wind is blowing before you can harness wind
power.

All you need to make an anemometer model is: 4 disposable

cups/glasses/bottles. They can be either the cups used for serving
tea/coffee/ice cream, or tumblers used for dispensing softdrinks (e.g.
fountain Pepsi), or bottles for dispensing drinking water. In addition you
would need:

1. a scissors
2. a marking pen (any color)
3. 2 strips of stiff, corrugated cardboard -- the same length
 4. ruler
5. a stapler
6. a drawing pin (push pin)
7. a Sharpened pencil with eraser on the end
8. some modeling clay (plasticine)
9. a watch that shows seconds

1. If you are using paper cups, cut off their rolled edges to make them
lighter. If you are using disposable bottles, cut off equal small
cuplike sections from each one of them.
2. Color the outside of one cup/tumbler/bottle section with the
marking pen.
3. Cut out two cardboard strips, Cross these strips so they make a plus
(+) sign. Staple them together.
4. Take the ruler and pencil and draw lines from the outside corners of
where the cardboard strips come together to the opposite corners.
5. Where the pencil lines cross will be the exact middle of the cross.
Staple the cups to the ends of the cardboard strips. Make sure the
cups all face the same direction.
6. Push the pin through the center of the cardboard (where the pencil
lines cross) and attach the cardboard cross with the cups on it to the
eraser point of the pencil. Test your anemometer in front of a table
fan or else blow on the cups to make sure the cardboard spins
around freely on the pin.

Place the modeling clay on a surface

outside, such as a a porch railing,
wooden fence rail, a wall or a rock.
Stick the sharpened end of the
pencil into the clay so it stands up
straight

Your construction will look like the

following figure
You cannot measure the wind speed with this anemometer, but it can give
you an idea of how fast the wind is blowing.

Using your watch, count the number of times the colored cup spins around
in one minute. You are measuring the wind speed in revolutions (turns) per
minute. Alternatively, you can fix a thread to one of the strips in such a
way that when it turns it winds on the pencil. Weather forecasters'
anemometers convert the revolutions per minute into kilometers per hour.
Keep a record of the wind speeds you're measuring for the next few days.

Measure the wind speed at different times of the day. Is it the same in the
morning; the afternoon; the evening? Move your anemometer to another
location. Is it windier in other places? Do trees or buildings block the
wind?

Look up the following webPages and you will come across several
alternative designs. Study them all and then innovate a design that suits
your circumstances the best.

http://www.hhm.k12.nf.ca/grassroots/WeatherStationWeb/anemometer1.html
http://hobbyscience.com/weather.html
http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/weatherproj2/en/docs/anemometer.shtml
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/units/energy/dixie.html
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/anemometer.htm

After you have enjoyed designing and constructing an anemometer, you

may be a bit curious about the wind. Visit the following website, it may be
of some help.

http://www.42explore.com/wind.htm
Make a Hovercraft

A hovercraft is a vehicle which travels across land or water just above a

cushion of air provided by a downward jet, as from its engines and
propellers. It finds extensive uses for sports as well as military purposes.
Commercial hovercraft can carry passengers, vehicles, and freight. Some
can travel as fast as 130 km per hour. You can not definetly make such a
vehicle, but you can make a model that illustrates its principle of
operation.

It's rather easy. All you need is a waste compact disk (CD) (The disks that
are used to dispense computer software, games, music and films), a
discarded PET bottle (the kind that is used to dispense soft drinks, cooking
oil or drinking water), a big balloon and some adhesive.

The method of construction is as follows:

Cut the head of the PET bottle

along with its cap with the help of
a hot knife. Remove the plastic
ring, if any, used for sealing.

Fix the bottle cap in the center of

the CD with the help of the
adhesive an epoxy adhesive e.g
Feviquick, is the best. Fix the
balloon on the bottleneck that
you had cut.

Drill a hole, about 4 to 4.5 mm in

the cap.
Inflate the balloon through the
bottle neck and then screw the
bottleneck into the cap.
Alternatively you can screw the
bottleneck beforehand and
inflate through the hole in the CD
and bottle cap.

Place the CD on a smooth table

top and watch how the CD moves
across the table.

If the balloon is large it may

bends sideways acting like a
brake on the floor. You can
prevent it by making a paper
sleeve (like the one shown in the
picture on the left).

There are many other methods for making a model of a hovercraft. Some
have been described in the following WebPages:

http://www.spartechsoftware.com/reeko/Experiments/ExpHoverCraft.htm
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/hovercraft.html
http://waterrocket.uh-lab.de/o_uses_hovercraft.htm

Enjoy, and try to innovate newer methods for this activity.

Make a Rocket

Rockets are fascinating! They soar into the sky and help us know many
secrets. Are you fascinated by rockets? If your answer is yes, you would be
interested in this activity.

The rockets that you can make safely will not go very far, perhaps much
less then the rockets we enjoy on the Deepawali day. But then you will
agree, the fun and excitement to make your own rocket has a totally
different dimension.

The basic principle of rocketry is Newton's Third Law of Motion, that is,
"For every action there is an equal an opposite reaction". A big rocket
uses chemicals to release an intense stream of gas out its tail end that
propels it upwards. A fuel is used in a rocket to produce this gas through
some chemical reaction. The rocket fuel is sometimes liquid, and
sometimes solid. But, in all cases, a gas is ejected from the tail of the
rocket.

The first kind of rocket that we can make is propelled by a very safe gas -
carbon dioxide. The fuel it uses is water and Eno tablet. This kind
produces no flames, and uses no toxic chemicals. You may even drink the
rocket fuel, it might help if you have an upset stomach!

To make this rocket you will need:

• One sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper (colored paper is good)

• One Fuji 35mm film can
• One half of an ENO tablet to produce carbon dioxide. Alternatively,
you can use baking soda and vinegar instead of the ENO tablet, to
produce the carbon dioxide.
• Cello tape (the "magic" kind is more water resistant!)
• Scissors
• A circular object to trace (like a roll of masking tape)
• A small amount of water
• A pencil for tracing the round shape
• A towel to be used as a launch pad (indoors)

Using just these materials you can make a rocket that can jump several
meters. You can see the detailed procedure at any of the following
WebPages:

http://www.alaskascience.com/rocketmain.htm
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/rocket.htm

There is yet another design; this design is not based on carbon dioxide
produced from ENO tablets or baking soda, instead it is based on the gases
emitted when one lights a matchstick. Interested? Visit any of the following
WebPages for details.

http://home.houston.rr.com/molerat/rocket.htm
http://www.matchstickrockets.com/howto.html
http://www.matchrockets.com/fire/mr.html
This activity is pure enjoyment and fun, but you can explore and innovate
too.

Make a Water Wheel

We all know that water is the source of life! We need water to survive. 71%
of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. But, how many of us have
heard of a waterwheel? Who knows what it is?

Water is necessary for growing food in the fields (irrigation). Quite often it
has to be pumped. Electric pumps require electric supply that may not be
always easily available in villages. Another option many Indian farmers
have been using for many years is a water wheel powered by animals. You
can sometimes sight bullocks going round and round around a device that
pumps water from a pond to irrigate fields. This device is a waterwheel.
Alternatively in some places in the mountains, there is a perennial flow of
water in the form of a stream. This water has lots of potential energy that
can be, and is in fact used to generate electricity or run a mill, through a
waterwheel. Are you curious to know more? Follow this link:
http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/discovery/waterwheels.html

You too can build a simple model waterwheel. All you need is 3 paper
plates made from aluminum coated paper about 5 cm in diameter, scissors
and some patience.

Paste together two paper plates one over the other with help of an
adhesive, say Fevicol.

Draw six rectangles on one of the plates each approximately 3 cm by 4 cm

and then draw a line up the middle of each rectangle and mark it 2cm from
one end. Cut along the centre line of each rectangle as far as the mark.
Alternatively, take six wooden spoons dispensed by ice-cream vendors, and
bisect them halfway using a knife or a razor blade.
Find the center point of the other
plate with the help of a compass. Put
a rod or pencil on the centre point
made by the compass and draw
around this rod/pencil and then cut
out a hole.
Slide the plate through the slit of each
rectangle.

Secure the position of each rectangle

with some cello tape.

Slide the rod/pencil used for marking

the central hole in the plate through
the centre of the wheel and hold it in a
stream of flowing water. Try both
water falling from above and water
rushing underneath.

Of course there are many other methods of making a water wheel. You can
use plastic spoons instead of wooden spoons, or make a waterwheel from a
used PET bottle. Some of these designs are described in WebPages whose
addresses follow. Visit each of these sites and decide for yourself which one
suits your tastes and circumstances the most.

http://www.nexus.edu.au/ozprojects/journey/inventions/water_wheel1.htm
http://www.freesciencefairproject.com/physics/water_turbine.html
http://www.propane.tx.gov/education/lessonpdf/1_3waterwheel.pdf
http://www.faribault.org/History1/kids.htm

The designs described in these pages are not all the designs that are
possible. After you have gone through them you may be able to offer a still
better design. For example, how about using a waste CD instead of the
paper plates, and spoons (plastic or aluminum) instead of the paper wings.
That is only a stray idea, do you think it is plausible.
After you are finished with making a water wheel, explore about it on the
internet. For example you can read about its history on the following
website:

http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millbuilder/historical.html
http://www.angelfire.com/journal/millbuilder/album5.html

Make Bridges

We often come across bridges while travelling from place to another. Most
often these bridges have different shapes. Doesn't it prompt you to think?
Why are the shapes of bridges different? Is it just because of the
idiosyncrasy of the builder, or is it because of different design
considerations? For example, bridges differ in their span, their load
carrying capacity, their height and so on.
First of all let's get our basics right. What are bridges for?

Bridges are structures built by engineers over a river, railroad track, road,
or some other obstacle. They allow people or vehicles to cross from one side
to another. They must be built strong enough to safely support their own
weight as well as the weight of the people and vehicles that pass over it.
They must also withstand natural occurrences that include weathering,
earthquakes, strong winds, and freezing and thawing

Would you like to investigate these design considerations by making

bridges. Don't be alarmed, you can do so with just a few sheets of paper,
some gum etc. We shall learn to design paper bridges.

Let us first look at the various designs available on the Internet. Follow
these links to see what all people have tried.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/card_bridge.html
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/paperbridge.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/structures/newspaper.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/educator/act_paper_ei.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bridge/build.html
http://www.siue.edu/ENGINEER/CONSTRUCT/BRIDGE/
http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/schoolzone/structures3.cfm

If you take a few minutes to visit all these WebPages, you would be
brimming with ideas. So why not take out a few sheets of paper and try to
build a bridge with paper. In case you get excited enough, invite a few
friends and try this activity in groups. Better still you can hold a
competetion to make paper bridges during a birthday party.
Before, we finish, here is some news for you. Making bridges out of paper
is not a game. It can be a very serious activity too. Some students from an
IIT built an actual bridge from paper. Read about it on the following
webPage.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/seta/2002/12/26/stories/2002122600070200.htm

You can in fact join a Paper Bridge - Architecture Forum and share your
ideas on the internet. The address of this forum is:

http://www.designcommunity.com/discussion/4850.html

Knot in a Bone

Are you a non vegetarian? Yes? You must have then definitely seen a bone
say a bone of a lamb or a chicken. They are often part of a non vegetarian
dish. You must be then very well aware that they are hard and definitely
cannot be tied into a knot. But you can tie a knot in a bone.

How?

It's very simple! All you need is a glass jar with cover, some vinegar and of
course a bone.

And here is the method to do it.

Pour some vinegar into the jar

Put the bone in the jar; make sure it's totally immersed.

Cover the jar and leave it aside. Everyday take out the bone and feel
changes in it.

When is it that the bone bends as if it were made of rubber? Can you tie a
knot on it? After how many days?

How does it happen?

To answer that you must be aware of the constituents of a bone, and of

course some science.

First what are bones made of?

A common misconception about bones is that

they are made up of dead tissue. This is not
true, bones have cells, nerves, blood vessels
and pain receptors. A bone has two types of
constituents: organic and inorganic. The
inorganic part of the bone is known as the
compact (hard) bone and the organic part is
called the cancellous (spongy) part, also
known as the cartilage.

Now, how does it become rubbery.

You do know that acids can dissolve many substances and vinegar is an
acid. When we treat a bone with vinegar, we can remove the inorganic
matrix, known as the compact bone and leave the flexible cartilage
(collagen), the spongy bone.

Are you interested to know more about bones or about similar activities.
Here are a few links, selected just for you.

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec97/876268281.An.r.html
http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/bones_noSW.html
http://www.doctorcoughdrop.com/lab.html
http://www.asd.k12.ak.us/homeworkdetails.asp?num=100201&assignNum=3999&ClassI
D=216
You can use this activity as a magic trick and amaze your friends and
elders alike. A simple way to do it as a magic trick is described on a
webPage whose link is provided below.

http://www.kidzone.ws/magic/abracachicken.htm

Secret Messages

We all are familiar with ink. It is the fluid inside a pen that allows us to
communicate with others through written text. But, most often the
communication is not exclusive, that is, anybody who can see the writing
on the paper can in principle read the message written on it. Situations are
possible when we would not like it to be so, that is when we want to
communicate a secret written message.

Is it possible?

Definitely, science can make it possible. One can make an ink which
instead of a dye solution (a coloured solution) has a colourless solution
which can be made visible by some method. That is precisely the principle
of invisible inks. An invisible ink is a solution which can be used to write
with. The written message is either invisible on application or disappears
quickly. It can be made visible by some means. The use of invisible ink is a
form of steganography, and has been used by spies.

The simplest invisible inks are organic compounds -- vinegar, lemon juice,
or even urine -- that are invisible at room temperature but turn brown
when heated.
Writing secret messages with an invisible ink is a very simple activity. All
you need is some lemon juice (or vinegar), cotton swabs or a paintbrush, a
thin white paper and a table lamp with a 100-watt bulb.

Here is the method to do it.

• Think about what you want to say in your mysterious note!

• Next, dip the cotton swab or paintbrush (even a toothpick will work)
into the lemon juice or vinegar.
• Write your message on the paper using any of these novel pens.
• Wait till the liquid dries completely. It should be invisible when it is
dry.
• For your next step, you should ask an adult to help you, because 100-
watt light bulbs are very hot. Hold the paper over the light bulb
(don't stare into the light!), moving it slowly so that all possible parts
of the paper are exposed to the heat of the light bulb.
• The mystery message should appear as the paper heats up.

Can you guess the science behind this miracle. No? Follow the links in the
list below and you can find it out. But that is not all, there are many other
possibilities for invisible ink, and there are other methods to develop the
secret message other than heating it. Find them out by following the links
listed below.

http://starryskies.com/articles/dln/6-01/invisible.html
http://www.fact-index.com/i/in/invisible_ink.html
http://www.chevroncars.com/wocc/lrn/artcl/artcl.jhtml?id=/content/Fun_and_Games/Scie
nce/a1676.xml
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/invisibleink2.htm
Make Paper Airplanes

Making paper airplanes is perhaps a very old science activity. It is perhaps

the easiest science activity, because the most amazing thing about making a
paper airplane is that all you need is a sheet of paper - nothing more, at
the most a scissors and some glue.. But sometimes you don't need scissors
even. . A few folds, a couple of adjustments, and you have a superb paper
flyer. The properties of paper give the airplane all the attributes it needs.

You must already know a design or two of paper airplane. But, the possible
number of designs is perhaps infinite. All you need to find other designs is
to search the internet through a search engine, and most likely your search
will yield more then a lakh links. Obviously very difficult to follow.

No one can claim to match the ingenuity of thousands of enthusiasts who

have devoted years to develop new designs, The author of this activity, for
one, will never. So the next best thing is to list the best websites that can
guide you to good designs. That is exactly what I have done. But before you
start surfing, visit the following webpage for some useful tips.

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/airplanes/tips.html

Here is a list of links. In the first WebPages that give offer links to many
other good sites are listed. I sincerely hope that it will save you some
precious time.
http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/paper.htm
http://www.khs.com/aboutgpa.htm
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Crafts/Origami/Paper_Airplanes/
http://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/Favorites.html
http://www.mcshane.org/planes/
http://www.pchelp.net/planes.htm
http://www.cln.org/themes/paper_airplanes.html
http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/
http://paperplane.org/main1.html

If you do not have the patience and time to follow all the links listed in the
above WebPages, here is another list is of webpages that actually give
instructions with photographs:

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/hebrew/personal/toolbox/acm/airplane/airplane.html
http://www.zurqui.com/crinfocus/paper/airplane.html
http://www.tutorials.com/06/0646/0646.asp
http://www.zurqui.co.cr/crinfocus/paper/print/bld1.html
http://www.onenorthpole.com/ToyShop/Paperairplanes.html
http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk/bettplan.html
http://www.josephpalmer.com/planes/Airplane.shtml
http://nuwen.net/airplane.shtml
http://www.workman.com//fliersclub/
http://www.geocities.com/pyros_82/pyroplan.htm
http://www.pchelp.net/PaperAirplanes/plane8/
http://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/Hornet.html
http://www.geocities.com/chouhung/saber.html

I hope that is more that you can digest. Try as many designs as you can
and just in case you develop a design of your own, do not hesitate to inform
us.
Make Sprouts

Here's an activity that not only produces an interesting model that

illustrates a principle of science but also something tasty and nutritious to
eat.
In this activity we shall make (grow in fact) sprouts from seeds. But, first
of all do you know what sprouts are?

A sprout is a baby plant. Sprouts are freshly germinated edible seeds.

These seeds can be beans, grains, nuts or vegetables. They are a very
nutritious kind of food. The enzymes in Sprouts help our body digest the
nutrients in our food and boost the life-giving activity in our body. Sprouts
vary in texture and taste. Some are spicy (radish and onion sprouts), some
are hardy and are often used in oriental food (mung bean), others are more
delicate (alfalfa) and are used in salads and sandwiches to add texture and
moistness.

All you need to grow sprouts is a wide mouth jar (it may be made up of
glass, PET or steel), a napkin of muslin or khadi cloth, and some seeds (say
mung bean or chana).

Here is the procedure:

Place about 1/4 cup of the dry seeds into the jar,
pour sufficient water to cover the them. Tie the
napkin on the mouth of the bottle and allow to soak
overnight.
The next day tilt the bottle to pour off the water,
and place the jar in a warm dark location, Dark
conditions can be simulated by completely covering
the jar with aluminum foil or placing the jar in a
covered kettle.
Rinse the sprouts with tepid water daily, and return
them to their warm dark location. In just a dew
days you should see the small white root emerge.

Soon you will find shoots appear on the sprouts.

You’ll want to “harvest” the sprouts about the time
the two small leaves appear.

If you do not place the jar in dark, the sprouts that grow appear a bit
greenish. Do you know why?

Try this procedure with several different kinds of seeds, and note down the
number of days it takes for sprouting. Does this time period depend on the
weather, say the room temperature. Why? Can you reduce the time taken
by a particular kind of seeds to sprout. How?

To know more methods of growing sprouts, or about the names of various

seeds that have been tested, visit any of the following WebPages:

http://www.i4at.org/lib2/sprouts.htm
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/sprouts.html
http://sd.essortment.com/growsprouts_rabk.htm
http://64.106.220.190/recipes/what%20can%20I%20sprout.htm
http://waltonfeed.com/grain/sprouts.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_3912_grow-sprouts.html
http://www.mrs.umn.edu/pyg/tips/vegetables/tip_607.shtml
http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horticulture/g886.htm
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/sprouting.html

To know the nutritional benefits of eating sprouts a visit to the following

WebPages would be useful:

http://www.cityfarmer.org/sprout86.html
http://www.sproutnet.com/nutrition_of_sprouts.htm

The science behind this activity can be explored through any of the
following WebPages:

http://www.fastplants.org/instructions/growing_systems.html
http://askeric.org/cgi-
bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Agriculture/AGR0010.html
http://www.selah.wednet.edu/SOAR/SciProj2000/VanessaR.html
Make Dahi (Yogurt)

Do you enjoy eating dahi? It is a nutritious and tasty dish that is a common
ingredient of any Indian cuisine. In North and central India Paratha
served with dahi is a favorite breakfast.

Do all dahi taste the same? Can there be any variations in its appearance?
It all depends on how a particular batch of dahi was made.

Do you know how is dahi? How it is made? You must be aware that it is
made from milk, but making a tasty and well set dahi involves some skill
and there is some science in it too.

Let us start with the question "what is dahi"?

Dahi (or "yogurt" as englishmen call it) is a dairy product made by

culturing cream and/or any kind of milk with live and active bacteria.
These cultures are living microorganisms: Lactobacillus bulgaricus (L.
bulgaricus) or Streptococcus thermophilus (S. thermophilus). They
metabolize some of the milk sugar (lactose) in the milk into lactic acid. The
lactic acid changes the liquid milk into the solid, creamy consistency of
dahi (yogurt).

Now, let us explore the method of making dahi. In brief, To make yogurt,
milk is heated, a little bit of these bacteria is added, and then the milk is
slowly cooled. The bacteria convert the sugar in milk (called lactose) into
lactic acid.

For this activity we need some milk (different varieties: dairy, tinned,
toned, double toned, full cream, cow, buffaloe or goat etc. etc.) We will also
need some disposable cups with lids ( you can use drinking glasses with lids
used for dispensing soft drinks) alternatively a few kulhads or katoris with
lids can also be used. And of course some dahi.

Pour equal quantities of a particular kind of milk in

the cups that you have chosen. Mix half a spoonful of
dahi in each one of them. Cover them and keep each
of the cups in a location whose temperature is
different from that of other locations. For example,
you can place one cup inside a refrigerator, one above
the refrigerator, one near a incandescent lamp and so
on. Leave them undisturbed for a while (say a few
hours) and then examine the contents of each cup.

Do all of them remain the same? If so, wait for a few hours more, in which
cup the dahi sets first of all? Is it at a lower temperature or higher? Note
down your observations.

It is so simple. But wait, the real skill is in getting the same quality of dahi
under different weather conditions or from milk from different sources.
That is indeed a scientific skill, that can at best be developed through
scientific exploration. You can find various tips for making dahi from some
webpages whose addresses are listed below. Click and follow these links to
gather some useful information, and then proceed with your exploration.

http://www.cas.muohio.edu/~mbi-ws/foodmicro/yogurt.htm
http://armenianheritage.com/fayogur.htm
http://www.sandeepgupta.com/pages/HowToMakeYogurt.html
http://www.uniqueprojects.com/projects/yogurt/yogurt.htm
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/yogurt.htm
http://chetday.com/howtomakeyogurt.htm

This activity requires involvement over an extended period of time - may

be a few months. But the skill that you will develop will be useful for entire
life.
If you are interested to know more about dahi, say its history or its
nutritional benefits, here are some links that you will find very interesting.

http://www.natren.com/pages/infoyogurt.asp
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=124

Now, here are a few questions for you to ponder.

Can dahi be made without using any dahi (starter)? From what kind of
milk dahi sets in the fastest (or slowest)?

Make Clouds in a Bottle

As you would know, a cloud is a visible aggregate of minute water or ice

particles suspended in air. Clouds form when warm rising air and water
vapor pools, cools, and condense. The possible reasons why this happens
could be one or more of the following: (1) warming of the air at the earth's
surface (convection) (2) air cooling as it expands, such as when wind
encounters a mountain and moves up side (3) activity at a front or low
pressure system (4) air expanding and cooling, such as when the rising air
is exposed to lower pressure. However, cool air cannot support as much
moisture as warm air. Therefore warm air that is rising will cool and reach
a point whereby its relative humidity is 100%. It is at this point that
moisture begins to condense onto the surface of particles in the
atmosphere, such as tiny dust particles, soot, salt, and sulfate. These
particles act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).

This is all the background information needed, when you begin this
activity.

All you need for this activity is: a clear disposable plastic 2-liter
soft drink (or drinking water) bottle (remove label),

A sheet of black construction paper, some hot water

The method is as follows:

Get some really hot tap water and pour 2 inches of it into
the 2-liter bottle. Place your mouth over the opening and
blow into it to ensure the bottle is fully expanded.
Shake the bottle vigorously for one minute. This will
distribute water vapours in the air.
Light a match. Let it burn for two seconds, then drop it into
the bottle.( This step is preferably done with an adult
around). Alternatively, you can use an incense stick
(Agarbatti). To get a thick cloud formation It is necessary
that sufficient smoke from the extinguished match stick
enters the bottle. Quickly recap the bottle.

Press hard on the bottle for ten

seconds. The bottle is strong, so
push really hard. Release, observe,
if you can not see any difference
inside the bottle, press the bottle
again and release, keep on
repeating this step till you see a
cloud inside the bottle.

When the cloud has formed, quickly unscrew the cap. You should see the
cloud escape from the bottle. If not, give the bottle a light squeeze.

Here are a few links to WebPages describing this activity:

http://www.weathernotebook.org/teacher/01/experiment.html
http://home.houston.rr.com/molerat/cloudb.htm
http://www.chias.org/www/edu/activities/activity1/activity1.htm
http://askeric.org/cgi-
bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Meteorology/MET0003.html
http://nasaui.ited.uidaho.edu/nasaspark/safety/weather/cloudsbottle.html

If you have any comments or suggestion about this activity you may contact the
author Dr.Rakesh Mohan Hallen by email at the following address
rakesh@csec.ernet.in